Psychiatric medications, science, marketing, psychiatry in general, and occasionally clinical psychology. Questioning the role of key opinion leaders and the use of "science" to promote commercial ends rather than the needs of people with mental health concerns.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

This program that allegedly prevents psychosis among "at-risk" individuals is apparently gaining momentum to the point that it may spread. What program?

Well, Portland, Maine has a program going that claims it takes people at risk for psychosis, provides intervention (including low-dose antipsychotics) and BAM they DON'T develop psychosis. The details are cloudy at this point. They certainly have an attractive website and they stick with the time honored brain disease model of mental illness to a point that is often well beyond the science.

I've not the time to look at this in more depth today, but fortunately Furious Seasons has given this a good look and I strongly encourage everyone to read about it on his site.

This does have shadows of the eerily awful study that provided "at risk" individuals with Zyprexa to help them not develop schizophrenia or to help them develop diabetes, depending on how you look at it.

Organizations

Scientific Misconduct

About Me

I'm an academic with a respectable amount of clinical experience and no drug industry funding. Given my lack of time, don't expect multiple daily updates. Certain things about clinical psychology, the drug industry, psychiatry, and academics drive me nuts, and you'll probably pick up on these pet peeves before long...